Tribunal in London to probe claims PSNI spied on journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney [Video]

A JUDICIAL TRIBUNAL in the UK will later examine allegations of widespread police spying on journalists.

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) in London is to probe claims that investigative reporters in Northern Ireland were subject to unlawful covert intelligence by the police.

The actions of three police forces – the PSNI, Durham Constabulary and the Met Police – are set to be scrutinised.

A complaint was initially brought to the IPT by documentary makers Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney, who were controversially arrested in 2018 as part of a police investigation into the alleged leaking of a confidential document that appeared in a film they made on a Troubles massacre.

Preparatory hearings before the IPT subsequently have heard further claims that PSNI spying operations extended to several other reporters operating in the region.

In the case involving Birney and McCaffrey, the PSNI asked Durham Constabulary to investigate the leak of …